on social media, doing trials, and getting to keep all the products I bought. It also gave me something meditative to do the morning of the big day, rather than getting lost in thought or getting anxious about someone else’ s timeline. My husband-to-be and I enjoyed our morning getting ready together in our home— even going to the local bakery for croissants as we do every Saturday morning. In addition to the creative, personal, and practical elements that go into planning a wedding, apps like Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok mean couples are seeing more images of grand, curated, and at times homogenous weddings, sometimes in real time—-I read about an influencer who got married this summer and live-streamed her wedding weekend. The social media landscape also makes it easy for trends to spread and dissipate as new ones emerge.( The use of Mason jars at weddings was a once-ubiquitous trend Turner says she’ s glad to see go by the wayside.)
Instead of looking solely to social media, Turner recommends couples put down their phones and laptops and think about what’ s meaningful to them.
“ As much as it ' s fun to look through the internet and find cool trends, maybe just find the one that speaks to who you are as a couple and really just focus on illustrating and bringing forward that story, versus trying to just keep up with the Joneses,” she says.“ At the end of the day, it ' s about love and committing your life to somebody.”
Where the“ I Do’ s” Are Happening
Many couples who live locally choose to stay in the Berkshires for their wedding, both for logistical purposes if many of their guests also are local, but also for the same reason many out-of-town couples choose it.“ There’ s something special about the energy here,” says Jocelyn Vassos, owner of Dear Edith and Lily Photography.“ It ' s beautiful all four seasons, and it has everything from incredible hiking to high-end clothing boutiques. The inns are quaint, and many are designed with an upscale modern-rural vibe. I also find that a lot of out-of-towners have some childhood memories of visiting here, so it ' s a place
Holiday 2025 2023 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 49